Method of granulating aluminium.



No. 812,493. PATENTED PEB. 13, 1906.

W. HosKINs. METHOD 0F GRANULATING ALUMINIUM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1904.

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imiran srriras PATENT @FFIQE METHOD OF GRANULATING LUWIENEUM.

no. 812,493. Y

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1906.

Application nea August 2s, 1904. serai N0. 222,210.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HosKrNs, a citizen of the United States,residin at Lagrange., in the county of Cook and tate of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Method of Granulating Aluminium, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvedy method of treating aluminium forythe purpose of reducing itto a more or less finely-divided condition.

The various methods hitherto employed for granulating aluminium are allof them, so far as I-am aware, quite slow and laborious, and as there isa large and increasing demand for granulated aluminium the question ofthe cost of its production has become one of material importance.

My object is to rovide a method in the practice of which a uminium maybe *quickly` and easily reduced to any desired degree of fineness, thusmaterially lessening the cost of the product.

My improved method consists in melting a mass of he metal, then stirringthe molten mass in the presence of an oxidizing agent and continuingthestirring uninterruptedly or otherwise until the mass coolsandsolidifies. 1The mass may be melted in a crucible, and the agitationlmay be produced by stir. ring the mass in the' same crucible in amannerto expose the mass throughout to the oxidizingV effect ofatmospheric air. As the mass becomes cool and plastic more or lessfinelydivided .portions thereof,'which have been subjected tqtphysicalcontact with the air, be.- come supe icially coated with extremely thinoxid' films' possessing a higher meltingpointI than the metal. The oxidfilms act as envelops for the particles of metal. and have a tendency tokeep the particles formed by Thus the aluminium may be ver quickly andcheaply ref duced to any state o division-fromimpalpable 'powder tocoarse particles-depending u on the degree of agitation and the lengthof) time employed in carrying on the method.

Inthe accompanying drawings II show apparatus capable of use` incarrying out my method in a small way.

Figure 1 is a vertical section, and Fig. 2 a section on line 2 in Fig.1.

A is a crucible, and B a frame or stand in which the Crucible may beremovably clamp ed -by means of the set-screw'a. J ournaled in the frameis a vertical pipe C, Vto which is fastened a pair of com anion-platesb, carrying stirrerrodsc. Also astened to the pipeCis a gearvwheel d,rotated from a'pinion e on the shaft f, having an operating crank orhandle g.

In practice the aluminiumto be treated by my method is melted'in thecrucible A, after which the crucible is'placed in the frame B toy occupyvthe position shown, wherein the pipe and stirrer rods extend downwardin the molten mass nearlyto the'bottom of the crucible. Turnin thehandle'g causes the 'pipe to rotate and t e rods c to swing around andstir the mass. The eect of this stirring is to agitate the moltenaluminium and cause substantially all parts of the mass in a short timeto becarried into physical contact with the atmosphere at the top of thecrucible and become oxidized; rIhe crucible contentsthus soon becomel amass of` molten particles enveloped in extremely thin oxid yfilms, andasthese oxid films remain infu'sible they tend to keep the particles'fromrunning together or reuniting.v The longer or morerapidly the stirring oeration is'performed before'the particles coo to solidity-the finer* thestate of division of thel mass. Thus the operator may with reasonableaccuracy readily' effect the result in this regard that he wishes toobtain.- To quicken the operation l and to aid the same when it isdesired'to produce a very fine state of division` of the metal, airorother oxidizing-gas may be forced into the mass. At

-, the top of the pipe Cisa swivel-coupling h, to

which a hose or the like maybe attached. The hose would connect with apump or other device for supplying air or other oxidizinggas under thenecessary pressure. The gas thus forced into the lower part of thereceptacle would of itself tend to agitate and im lregnate the mass; butI prefer to employ t erewith the stirring means described.

The means described may be variously modiiied without departing from thespirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The method of reducin aluminium, and other metals the oxids of w ichhave a high melting-point, to a more or less finely-divided condition,which consists in forcing an oxidizing-gas into the molten mass toimpregnate the same, at the `same time agitatn the mass, and continuingthe agitation whi e the IOC IIO

mass is cooling, thereby cavusing the mass inl timelmechanicallystirring the mass, and conlsolidifying to separate intosuperficially-Aoxitinuing the stirrinw'hile the mass iscooling, Io dizedparticles, thereby causing-t e :mass solidifying tol 2. The method ofreducin aluminium, mi separate into spericially-oxidized particles.v

5 other metals, the oXidsofW ich have a higll. Y HOSKINS.

melting-point, to a. more or less vfinely-'divided In presence of;-condition, which consists in forcing -an oxidi'z- WALTER N. WINBEIpG,

ing-gas into the molten .mass,l at the same L. HEIsLAR.

